So far the season has been full of learning experiences for the tennis coach and the players as Clarkston has gamely fought their way to a 2-3-1 (1-2-1) record.
Clarkston Coach Chaz Claus learned that his doubles pairings are the core of the program on April 28. As the Wolves? pairings swept their Berkley counterparts to salvage a tie for Clarkston after the Bears took all the singles matches.
The Clarkston players learned how a good program operates as they finished last in a field of eight teams from across the state at the Grand Blanc Invitational on April 30.
‘There were no patsies in the (Grand Blanc Invitational),? said Claus. ‘These are the kinds of programs we want to be like.?
At the onset of the season, Claus knew his team was inexperienced, and hoped the sophomores and juniors playing significant roles would learn throughout the season about how a quality program operates.
The field at the invitational included two top ten teams from division I in West Bloomfield and Troy; the No. 1 team in division II, Birmingham Groves; and the No. 1 team in division III in Detroit Country Day.
Five Wolves did manage to secure victories in the opening round of the invitational. Junior Eric Maesch and sophomore Brett McMillen, the Wolves number three and four singles players, both won their first match. The doubles teams of sophomore Chris Graczyk and junior Pat McIlrath; junior Zach McDonald and senior Dan Osterhage; and freshman Erik Ejups and junior Sean Kurowski, all nabbed a victory as well.
The number two doubles tandem of seniors Paul Chun and Paul Gunckle seemed to heading for a victory as well before a collapsed lung sent Gunckle to the hospital. Gunckle is expected to make a full recovery.
‘Once Gunckle went down, we only had one senior in the lineup,? said Claus
The Wolves were already shorthanded this past week as senior Amit Surapaneni, Clarkston’s number one singles player was traveling with his family. Claus expects Surapaneni to be back for Clarkston’s next match, which was against Troy Athens on May 3 and finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News.
Next up for the Wolves is Farmington Hills Harrison on May 5 at home, followed by a rematch with Rochester High at home on May 9. Clarkston beat the Falcons 5-3 on April 19.